Finishing edges of leather pieces



Oct. 31, 1939. M PESTEL 2,177,785

FINISHING EDGES 0F LEATHER PIECES Filed Feb. 19, 1937 7 Fig.2. Fig' lZr. 76 //\/\/E/VT[747 Patented Oct. 31, 1939 UNITED FINISHING EDGES OF LEATHER PIECES Marcel Pestel, Paris, France, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application 4 Claims.

When a piece of leather is cut to size or pattern, a raw edge is left which frequently has a difierent color than the surface of the material and which always is rough or unfinished in appearance. Various methods are employed for producing a finished edge. Sometimes this 'is done in the manufacture of boots and shoes by skiving the edge of the leather work piece and then turning over or folding the sklved edge. Another method employed consists in shrinking the flesh side of apiece of leather, as by the application of heat and pressure, to the end that the grain surface of the leather may be caused to curl to such an extentthat it will completely hide the raw edge in the finished work. The method to be describedherein may be employed for work pieces of a single thickness or comprising a plurality ofjthicknesses of leather. Pieces of single thickness are widely used, as in the manufacture of boots and shoes and in the manufacture of leather articles, such as pocketbooks, purses, bags and the like. In addition, the method may be employed in the manufacture of belts, luggage, harnesses and the like, and there, the work piece will frequently comprise two flesh surface to fiesh surface, so that the exposed faces of the work are grain surfaces on both sides.

.An object of the invention is to. provide an imleather work piece a finished appearance and in which only a finished surface of the leather is exposed, and doing this quickly and economically. In one aspect, the method comprises cutting or otherwise treating the edge of the work toprowhich are of equal width, and which lies wholly in the edge of the leather and then in forming 45 or fill thegroove. Conveniently, the edge may be rounded, although this is not essential. In another aspect, the method comprises the grooving of the edge of a work piece, the application of cement to the groove and the molding or folding of theremaining marginin such a way that the groove is hidden and a. finished surface of the,

leather left exposed.

These and other aspects of the invention will 55 best be understood from a consideration of the thicknesses sewn or, otherwise secured together,

proved method of imparting to an edge of a vide a substantially V-shaped groove, thesides of February 19, 1937, Serial Bid 126,675 In France March 3, 1936 following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 shows in side elevation the grooving machine employed for removing a portion of the edge of the leather;

Fig. 2 is an angular view of the cutter head and the guide members associated therewith;

Fig. 3 shows the cutting tool removed from the cutter. head;

Fig. 4: is an enlarged View, with parts broken away and in section, of the cutting tool and the associated guide members;

Fig. 5 is a View in elevation of a modified form of cutter head having guide flanges rotatable therewith;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a molding and burnishing tool forbringing the lips of the leather together after it has been grooved;

Figsfll, 8 and 9 illustrate in section an unfinished Work piece, a grooved work piece and a finished work piece with the lips brought together and rounded.

Fig. 10 shows how the edge may be made quarter round in cross section and illustrates the type of cutter which would be employed;

Fig. 11 shows a finished edge of this type;

Fig. 12 shows a cutter for forming a groove to produce an edge which when finished will be beveled at a steep angle and Fig. 13 shows such a beveled edge in cross section.

It will be understood that the leather work piece which is tobe finished at the edge may comprise either a piece of single thickness of either natural or artificial leather, or a composite piece in which the two layers have been brought together and secured either by adhesive orstitching so that the finished surfaces thereof are exposed. These may be the grain surfaces or those treated, as in patent leather, to impart a finished appearance. Onthe other hand, the work may comprise a work piece having a grain or finished surface on one side and having a margin at the other side treated with a finishing material and which will be of comparable ap-' pearance to the grain surface.

In carrying out the method, a machine of the type illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 may con veniently be employed to form a groove in the edge of the workpiece. This machine will be seen to comprise a frame l0 having journaled therein on an upright axis a shaft 12 belted to a driving motor l4 and carrying at its upper end a cutter head I6. This cutterhead I6 is apertured at N! (Fig. 4) to receivea cutting blade 28,

such as is shown in Fig. 3 and which is a comparatively thin blade, having a pointed or substantially V-shaped end 22, this blade being held in position in the cutter head by a screw 24. As illustrated, the sides of the end 22 are formed as an ogee curve. For pieces of work 44 having substantially straight edges 45, a guide, such as is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, may be employed. This comprises an upright plate 26 having a slot 28 through which the cutter projects at each rotation of the shaft, this slotted plate 26 serving as an edge gage and acting to limit the depth of out which can be made. The machine is also provided with guide flanges 30 and 32 between which the work is positioned in a substantially horizontal plane so that the location of the groove with respect to the edge of the work may be readily and conveniently determined. These members 36 and 32 are adjustably secured to the upright plate 23 by fastening members 33, and the plate is supported on brackets 3:3 attached to the machine frame it.

When the work pieces 44 are provided with curved peripheries having concaved portions, it may be found more convenient to employ a grooving cutter of the type illustrated in Fig. 5, its cutting head ill; having a blade terminating in a point H2 and which is held in position by a screw I23. This cutter is provided with circular guide flanges I36 and E32 adjustably positioned on the cutter head by set screws I3 3. In utilizing this grooving cutter, the edge of the work will be pressed against the periphery of the cutter head H6, thus limiting the depth of the cut, and its position heightwise of the cutter will be determined by the flanges I33 and I32.

The groove formed will be substantially V shaped but the contour may vary, although it will usually be such that the widths or depths of opposite sides of the groove are alike. The sides of the groove will, as shown in Fig. 8, usually intersect or meet the side faces or adjacent margins of the Work piece so as to form thin-edged portions or lips =13 and 42. After the formation of the groove, a coating of cement will be applied to one or both faces of the groove. Then, either immediately or after an interval of time, according to the nature of the cement,.the lips 40 and 42 or portions of reduced thickness of the grooved work piece il will be molded or turned in until the opposite faces 45 of the groove are brought together, as shown in Fig. 9, thus causing the outside edges of the adjacent margins to meet. This leaves an edge with only the marginal grain surfaces 48 and G exposed. The illustrated work piece 44 is a composite piece of two thicknesses of leather brought together and secured to each other with the grain surfaces 43 and 50 on the outside, but the method applies equally to pieces of single thickness.

In carrying out this forming or molding operation, a tool 60, such as is shown in Fig. 6, may conveniently be employed. This tool has a series of rounded grooves 62 of different widths so that, according to the thickness of the work piece to be treated, it may be presented in a substantially horizontal plane to one of these grooves, causing the lips 40 and 42 to be turned in to bring the outer edges into abutting relation and a rounded edge, such as is shown in Fig. 9, to be formed. If desired, a slight burnishing effect may be secured during the application of the work to this tool.

If it is wished to form a quarter-round edge, as illustrated in Fig. 11, in which only the grain surface 64 of the work piece 66 is exposed, then a cutter 68 may be employed which has a pointed cutting edge designed to form a groove in which the distance from the bottom a of the groove to the outer edges g and c is identical. The thinned margin 69 is then rolled over and attached to the body of the work by cement.

In forming a sharply beveled edge of the sort illustrated in Fig. 13, the work piece may be grooved by a cutter 12 of the shape shown in Fig. 12 to form a V-shaped groove having equal sides, as in the form shown in Fig. 10, and after cement has been applied, the thin edge 14 will be rolled or molded to cover the groove and leave only the grain surface 76 exposed.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of finishing the edges of leather pieces which consists in cutting away the material along the edge to form a groove wholly in the edge of the leather, bringing the margins of the outer surfaces of the leather piece toward each other to cause the edges of the opposite margins to meet, and holding them in this position.

2. That improvement in methods of finishing the edges of leather pieces which consists in forming a groove wholly in the edge of the leather, the sides of said groove meeting the side faces of the work piece to form at least one thin-edged portion, and molding this thin-edged material thereby to close the groove leaving only the side surface leather exposed.

3. That improvement in methods of finishing the edges of pieces of upper leather which consists in removing material at the mid portion of the edge of a piece of leather to form an approxi mately V-shaped groove, applying cement in said groove, and then rolling in the opposite margins of side faces of the material to cause the edges of said margins to meet to form a smooth, unbroken surface and the groove to be covered with only said margins exposed at the edge of the piece.

i. That improvement in methods of finishing the edges of leather pieces which consists in fastening together two pieces of leather with the grain surfaces of the leather exposed, forming a substantially V-shaped groove in the edge of the composite piece, applying cement in said groove, and molding the margins of the leather pieces to bring the edges of said margins into abutting relation thereby covering the flesh portion of the l ather and leaving only the grain surface exposed.

MARCEL PESTEL. 

